Opposition remains skeptical as Russia says the regime will participate in peace talks

The Syrian opposition doubts all parties will join the negotiation table despite Russia's announcement that the regime would participate in an upcoming peace conference.

Although Russia offcially announced on Friday that an agreement had been reached with Damascus, the Syrian opposition remains skeptical about the Syrian government’s participation in new peace talks.

“We would like to hear that statement from the Assad government. This has been related to us through the Russians, I have no idea why the Syrians are silent,” the spokesman for the National Coalition, Louay Safi, said at a conference held in Istanbul,[2] according to AFP.

The statement was made on Friday, the second day of a three-day long meeting of the main Syrian opposition in Istanbul, Turkey to discuss conflict-related matters, among which the prospects for an international conference to take place.